We Are
by Mrs. Wilbur Robinson
Summary: How can one guy get the attention of the love of his life, when she's blinded by so many others? Featuring the teenage trio -Lewis, Franny, and Wilbur- in a heartbreaking journey that was meant to be. More info inside.
1. Introduction

SUMMARY: Franny is the hottest girl in school, and goes through boyfriends like no tomorrow. Why? Because the word 'creep' isn't doing these guys any kind of injustice. When her current boyfriend scares her, she runs. Lewis has always been her knight in shining armor, always going to her rescue. He is forever hoping for more, but Franny always seems to brush him off. Throw in Wilbur visiting, and the teenager's problems become quite the rollercoaster ride.

Rated T to be safe.

* * *

Hey there, awesome MTR readers!

Once upon a time (a few weeks ago), I recieved a lovely email from Krystal Kerro Sky, with an offer to give me one of her stories that never really got anywhere. After taking a look, I spluttered a lot and basically said, 'Why the HECK do you want to give this up!? TO ME?? Anyone know how weird it is to be handed a fantastic story by your favourite author on a silver platter? Beyond crazy. And naturally, I thought that my writing would sound so terribly simple and silly compared to the aspiring novelist's...so this is our compromise. I'm having the time of my life writing it _with_ her. The title, "We Are" is based on the song by the same name, performed by Vertical Horizon. It seemed to fit. :)

Kyrstal Kerro Sky:

Ok, so, I decided to write something, but i got frustrated with it, so I thought 'Hey, I'll toss it Mrs. Wilbur Robinson and let her tackle it.' Well.. then this story came about. We throw it back and forth, so both of us can't really claim and say 'I did it all!' like a crazy maniac. I hope you enjoy it, with the sections of my crappy writing and the uber-awesome pages she writes. All props for Lady!

Mrs. Wilbur Robinson:

Hahaha.

Hope you all enjoy ;)


	2. Mark

_A/N (Mrs. Wilbur Robinson): OK, here we go. I would like to add that this chapter is the one that was emailed to me, and is almost completely, entirely Kerro Sky's work. I couldn't find a single thing to critique, she's bloody marvellous. Enjoy!_

(2013, Cornelius/Lewis is 18, Franny is 16)

* * *

She was scared. She didn't get scared very often, but now she was. She didn't realize how much of a creep this guy could be when she first met him and started going out with him, least not until he started this. It was beyond wacko, beyond strange. She couldn't even describe it properly. Summed up: chains and leather.

They were in the basement of his home, the level finished to look like a medieval dungeon, complete with cells and faux torches. It was dank, reaked very lightly of musty water, and gave the impression of immortal twilight beyond the fake windows. If they hadn't walked down steps to get here, she would have assumed they were in some part of a castle.

She didn't want to be here, not now, and never again. How he ever convinced her to come down here was beyond her, but he did, and here they were. She shouldn't have come down here. Gripping her bag tightly, she only took a few steps from the stairs, curious, but scared.

"Mark, I'm gonna go, ok? This is really starting—"

"What's the matter, Franny? Thought you liked me." Mark replied. He was tall, muscular, and a starter for the high school football team. Every girl wanted to be with him, and every guy wanted to be him. Dark hair was cut close to his scalp, and his eyes were deep green. None knew of this darker side, this place. And now she didn't want to remember it.

"I do, but this… this is scary, Mark." She backed away, back towards the stairs. She wanted to know more about him, yes, but not this much. She had a hand on her cell phone, knowing that help lay just a number away.

"Come on, Fran, this'll be fun. Just you and me here." He moved closer to her, reaching out, but she backed away, her heel hitting the bottom step. She lost her balance in that split moment, falling back on the stone steps. He was over her a moment later, looking down. "Why are you running? Where do you think you'll go? You agreed to come down here, to see my collection. You will stay and see it." The anger that flowed from his gaze made her cold, her breath catch in her throat. What was she going to do?

Suddenly, the voice of her sensei came back, from a lesson she might have forgotten. "Karate is not just for self-defense, but for if you get backed into a corner as well. Ladies, attack if you must to get free. You always have the right to say no, but even a word will not stop a hormonal male."

She snapped out, first a kick to his shin, and then a knee to his groin. Pushing his stunned body over, she raced up the steps, clutching her bag. She heard him screaming below, demanding that she return, but she wouldn't. Her hand was on the front door, and it was open into the cool night of mid-September. She slammed the door shut, and raced down the sidewalk, pulling her cell phone out, and pressing down #2. 'CALLING LEWIS' appeared on the screen. Holding the device to her ear, she kept her hurried pace, looking at the street signs. She needed to know them for him to find her.

* * *

The phone was ringing, and he could barely hear it, if not for the vibrator going off as well, shaking it off the counter. He grabbed it, shutting the stereo off before looking at the name. This late, and it was Franny calling him. He flipped it open. She would only ever call him this late if it was an emergency. He was already grabbing his car keys and jacket, heading from his lab, his project ignored. "Hey."

"Lew-lewis, help." Came her scared voice. He knew it all to well. This had to be the millionth guy who tried to do her wrong.

"Where're you at?" he asked, waving to Fritz as he passed his uncle in the corridor. Did anyone of them know about the issues he put up with, with Franny? None of them needed to know that she was his future wife. He kept his trip to the future silent, not even telling Franny about it. They didn't need to know, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"I just passed Beech Street, in the west residential area. I think the area is called Hallow Oaks." She sounded calm now, and he was thankful for that. Maybe it was when she talked to him that she relaxed, or at least did calm down.

Pushing open the door to the garage, he looked for this light blue Prius, spotting the electric-ethanol hybrid car. He had changed all the family vehicles into hybrids, even if they technically couldn't function as such. "I'll be there soon. Want me to stay on the line?" He pulled the door open and slid in, starting the car up and pressing the button to open the door to the outside.

"Yeah, because I don't think I hit him hard enough to keep him down." She whispered, and he could hear her looking over her shoulder.

He hit the accelerator, racing from the garage. The drive into the city was a winding road, up and down hills, around sharp turns, but he knew the path well, and took it while still topping 50. "As long as you keep moving, he wont chase after you." He wouldn't ask what the guy was about, or what scared her away, that information would come out eventually.

"What if he does? He drives that black Jeep, and that thing is freaky! What if he runs me down? What if—"

"Franny, calm down, you're gonna be all right." He replied with a smile, hoping she would take his calm attitude in the matter. He turned onto the main road, heading west to get to Hallow Oaks. With his hand full with the phone, he couldn't use the Navigator to get him there accurately.

"Are you here yet?"

He looked to the clock, seeing that they had been talking only for a few minutes. "Not yet."

"Then I can't calm down. I'm not all right. I…" He heard her sob on the other end. Was she finally going to admit that she needed him? He was always there to catch her when she fell, ready to help her back to her feet, and she would never admit that she needed him, wanted him, the same way he needed and wanted her.

Seeing the sign for the new residential, he jerked the wheel, racing in. Traffic was light this late, and it didn't take him long to find Hallow Oaks community. "Beech Street, right?"

"I'm now passing Ash. Is that you?"

He couldn't see her, but flipped his headlights off then on again. "Did the car blink?"

"Yeah. I'm on the right side."

He hit the brakes, coasting to a stop once she was outlined in the lights. He unlocked her door, tapping another button to auto-open it for her. Once she slid in, the door closed again. He snapped his phone closed, and she did the same before reaching and hugging him. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling how scared she was. "It's okay, Fran, it's all right." He consoled, looking up into the mirror, not seeing anyone coming up behind them.

"No, it's not. I can't keep doing this… I keep running to you when things go bad, when I can't solve them myself. How much longer are you going to put up with me?" she accused, pushing him back into his seat.

Lewis pursed his lips, pulling a quick turn to head back for the city road. He wanted to tell her until she agreed to marry him and grow old with him, and even then he wouldn't stop being her shoulder to lean on. "Forever." He finally replied, taking the street, seeing a pair of headlights in the rear view mirror. Was it her demon Jeep?

"Forever? Geez, you really are the best friend anyone could ever ask for." She replied, border line sarcasm.

"How about we get something to eat?" He offered, keeping an eye on the person behind them while heading for the city and not towards his home.

"Perkins is open 24 hours now. And I could really go for a shake." Franny replied, looking over her shoulder. "Is that a Jeep?" Her face was suddenly lit by high-beams, and the Jeep accelerated. "It's MARK!"

Lewis pressed the gas, the Prius jumping ahead. "Sit down and buckle in." He ordered calmly, flipping the mirror up. He swerved around another car, watching as the Jeep matched him and inched closer. "We need a cop." He muttered.

"We need an exit." Franny replied, buckling in and holding fast to her seat.

"Too many cars, or I would test something." He replied, dodging another car. Traffic had suddenly picked up the closer they got to the brick buildings. Where was his rainbow painted city? Not here yet. He didn't even have Robinson Industries yet. Franny was still in high school, and technically, so was he. He had graduated one college when he was 14, just to move onto another one, and another, and several more, learning everything, and still maintain inventing and working for InventCo. But right now, that was all far from his mind.

With a demon Jeep behind them, traffic congestion ahead, and no way free, there was suddenly too much to worry about.

"Would it mean that we would be away from him?" Franny demanded, looking at him. He cast a sharp glance at her, narrowing his eyes with a heavy intake through his nose.

"Yes. Open the glove compartment." He replied, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Franny blinked, wondering why he—she pulled the hatch open, seeing not a space, but a mess of controls, and a large red handle. "What the—"

"You know how to fly a helicopter?" he asked sharply, glancing in the mirror to the Jeep gaining on them.

"The basics, yes. What will this do?"

"When you pull the handle, it becomes the yoke. You need to pull it back towards you to keep us level, as our lifting power is between the rear wheels. This is the first flying Car, Franny. Trust me?"

Franny gripped the handle, grinning. "Hold onto your boxers, boy." Yanking it hard, the car lurched, upwards.

* * *


	3. Perkins

"Hold it steady, Fran. Keep the nose up." Lewis instructed, messing with the center console, bringing up displays and tapping through them rapid fire. Everything was still green, and the battery life was holding. He got the Navigator to interface, and was trying to get it to autopilot, but with no such luck.

"Where are we going?" Franny asked, awe in her voice. Or was it fear?

"You're the pilot. Take us to Perkins." He joked, looking to the city as they flew closer to it. "Just don't run into any power lines, and we should be all right."

"How do I land?" Franny looked to him, a quick glance, reassurance that they were going to live through this.

"I have the lifter set to 75 feet. All I need to do is take down the number to 10 inches, and that will put us back on the ground."

"Why 10 inches?"

"Because that is the distance between the pavement and the altitude sensor on the car. It measures the distance between the ground and it, with the default being zero. I haven't changed it to factor in the 10 inches, and I don't think I will. Just trust me with the tech, and you just fly." Lewis assured, sitting back in his seat as she flew towards the Perkins sign.

There was a sudden flash of light to their left, the light taking over the whole sky for a split second. Hovering close to them was a slightly darker blue craft, the pilot giving them the strangest look. It was V-shaped, looking oddly familiar as it pulled close to them.

Lewis waved to the other pilot. "He is so grounded when he gets home."

Franny looked at him. "Who's that?"

"My, uh, very strange friend." Lewis lied, motioning to Wilbur to follow them. What was Wilbur doing here, now, of all times? There better be a damn good reason that the youth was risking his very existence to come back. He went back to messing with the center console, adjusting their altitude to get lower to the parking lot.

"From where?" Franny demanded, turning the car to align to the others below it, over an empty parking spot.

"The future." Lewis replied with a snicker.

"Right… and I'm your wife in the future?" She replied, exasperated.

Lewis looked up at her with a smirk. "You really wanna know?"

Franny blinked. "No, because I'm joking. Will you just land us all already?"

Lewis converted feet to inches, and slowly brought the number down, keeping a blue eye on the other craft, which he was going to assume would park on top of them to conserve space, and to prove that Wilbur was a great pilot. This would only be the second visit since the foray in the future, the first being the issue of girls. It helped that he was a charmer, but things went a bit too far when he nearly charmed Franny to never let her children do chores or house work. All he would have to do then is go back into the future, remind his mother of her agreement, and then probably after much debating between them, still be forced to do chores. For one to always be right, and the other to never fail, such a debate would put him smack-dab in the middle of it all.

The wheels touched down with a soft thump, shocks rocking slightly. He deactivated the flight controls, and converted everything back into the normal driving equipment of a car. "Congratulations, you just flew the first personal flying vehicle. How do you feel?" He joked, using his cell phone as a microphone, holding it to her lips.

"Lewis, if you weren't such an innocent nerd, I would smack you." Franny replied with a smirk, looking like she wanted to kiss him at the same time.

"There you have it, folks, Franny Framagucci-" the smack came without warning, making them both laugh at the absurdity of their actions. "All right, all right, I get it. Let's get something to eat." He opened the doors for them, sliding his long frame out.

Franny stood at the back of the Prius, looking up at the Time Machine and Wilbur hoisting himself out. "I know you… you tried to wile me out of chores."

Wilbur grinned, dropping to the top of the trunk, and then stepping to the pavement with grace that might only come from his Framagucci heritage. "Yeah, well, whose to say it was gonna work anyway?"

Lewis beeped the Prius locked, looking to the Time Machine. "Where's the red one?"

"Oh, yeah… Dad took it back down to the Lab, and was about to do the same for this one when I snagged it. I don't think he is gonna be too happy that I do it, either." Wilbur replied, tapping at his watch, the machine buzzing before disappearing.

"I'm sure he'll understand when you tell him where you went, and why." Lewis informed, letting Wilbur know that he wasn't going to be in trouble, as long as he told them why he was here. He slipped his hand into Franny's, testing the water, and failed when she pulled her hand away. Even though so much had happened in the short time, she was still going to maintain the distance of 'friendship' for now. "How about some food, my treat."

Wilbur grinned, and almost bolted for the door, as if he was out to eat with his parents, but stopped himself after a short muscle spasm. "Sounds great, as I don't think your economy would take my cash, but I know my stomach will certainly take anything edible."

Franny laughed, crossing her arms protectively across her chest as they walked to the entrance. "You really are strange."

Taking that as a compliment in the only way Wilbur would, the youth grinned. "Thank you, runs in the family."

Lewis choked on his own laugh, grinning broadly. "You are so dead when you get home."

Wilbur held the door for them, letting Franny walk in first. The hostess seated them at a table, leaving the menus while they sat. Wilbur was next to Lewis, reclining back in his seat as Franny sat across from the inventor. She opened the menu, but wasn't even looking at it. "Should just do a bunch of appetizers…"

Wilbur didn't even pick up the menu, just grabbed a sugar packet and a creamer, shaking the tiny cup rapidly while reading the back of the packet. "Lewis said he was paying, so I would say get the most expensive thing on the menu—" he was interrupted by an elbow into his side. "What?! The giant seafood platter is really good. Tallulah and I usually split it when we go out to eat."

Lewis just shook his head. "How often does your family go out to eat? And I mean when everyone goes out at once."

"Only special occasions, like…" he set the packet down, idly spinning it on the table. "Mom and Dad's anniversary, or Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary, any anniversary, or a birthday, though not mine because mom says I'm such a problem child."

"Start behaving then." Franny replied, setting her menu down just as their server, a thin young man with long black hair pulled back, came up to them.

"Good evening, folks, I'm Josh. Is there anything I can get you to drink?"

"A water and a chocolate shake." Franny replied curtly, giving Josh a very alluring smile.

"Sprite, please."

Wilbur snatched Lewis' menu, flipping to the back and looking the drink selection over. "Uh, root beer. Oh, can I make that a float?"

Josh grinned. "Certainly. Do you still need some time to decide?"

Lewis looked to Franny, who had gone back to looking the menu over. "Yeah, thanks."

"All right, I'll be right out with your drinks." And Josh was gone.

"I can't find it. Where is the giant seafood platter?" Franny announced after several minutes of paging through the menu. Josh had returned with their drinks, saw they still were not ready to order, and had left.

"Oh, um…" Wilbur started rifling through the pages, still shaking his creamer. "I don't think they have it. Last time I had it was in '42, and it was Laszlo's birthday."

"Then fine, let's just get two appetizer sampler platters." Franny concluded, setting her menu down, and grabbing the one Wilbur was still paging through. She set them crossways infront of her, grabbing her shake and taking a long pull from it.

Wilbur sat back, crossing his arms in a pout. "Fine, mum." He groaned.

Lewis shot glances at both of them., but Franny didn't seem at all fazed by what Wilbur had just called her. They were already on thin ice right now, and he hoped Wilbur would keep in mind when and where he was, and what Franny wouldn't know. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a pencil and a mini-notebook, opening to a page that wasn't covered in notes, and wrote a short note to Wilbur. 'Watch it. I have told no one.' Sliding it to his future son, blue eyes meeting brown for a split second, Wilbur nodded.

Franny was watching them. "What, some crude guy-joke?" her eyes were trained on both of them, anger simmering just under the surface.

Lewis shook his head, flipping to a clean page. "No. You know I'm not into those sophomoric dirty jokes, Franny. I barely understand them." He started doodling the invention he had been working on before rescuing her. "It was just a warning for him to keep his mouth shut."

"You are way too honest, Lewis." Wilbur replied, resuming the shaking of his creamer. "And far too innocent. It's a miracle you get any later on, let alone from the chick you marry."

This perked Franny's interest. "Lewis gets married? To who?"

Wilbur locked eyes with Lewis, who was daring him to answer that. "A very lovely, musically inclined woman who is able to put up with his nerd-ness. I get my good looks from my mom."

"Wait, Wilbur; you're Lewis's _son_ in the future?" Franny asked, looking from Lewis to Wilbur and back again. "No way. So that ship you were flying really is a time machine? That Lewis invented?"

"Will invent. He wont start on it till about '32." Wilbur replied, sitting up confidently.

Franny started laughing, pushing her shake away from her. "Oh man, no way…" Before either boy could say anything, she was on her feet and heading to the bathroom.

"Suffice to say, she didn't believe you, and wont ever take me seriously again." Lewis replied, watching her go. "Didn't you do any research on this time period?"

"Should I have?" Wilbur replied, sticking a spoon into his float.

"Would have been helpful in this situation. You can't just blab to everyone about the future, not many people want to hear it, or even care to think about it." Lewis informed, scribbling something out and re-writing the line. "And you can't keep depending on me to cover for you."

"You should also keep in mind that the 'future' is my present." Wilbur snapped harshly.

They both sat quietly, Lewis sipping at his soda, looking up every once in a while. Where was Franny?


	4. Story of my life

Where was Franny? It shouldn't take her that long to use the bathroom. The seconds ticked by, and Wilbur eventually started drumming his fingers into a heavy rhythm on the table, thoroughly irritating Lewis. The tapping was grating on the younger boy's nerves, and he was still concerned over Franny's emotional state and where-abouts. Wilbur started beatboxing a minute later, and Lewis snapped. He turned in his seat, and grabbed Wilbur's wrist roughly to put an end to the incessant tapping. "What are you doing?"

"Making the best out of a boring situation? What do you think, genius?" Wilbur replied smartly as he yanked back his arm.

Lewis sank onto the countertop, gently rubbing his temples. "I meant...what are you doing _here_," he mumbled into his sleeve. "In this time period."

"Oh," was all Wilbur said. Lewis couldn't see his face, but he guessed that Wilbur was staring hard at his empty glass as he thought up a plausible reply. "Can't someone visit a good friend anymore just to see how they're going?"

"When _you _are the friend, there is always a hidden motive," Lewis stated dryly. He sat back up slowly, and raised a smooth eyebrow. "So what do you need help with?"

"No, it's not like that, honestly. I just wanted to see how you're going...with Franny." Wilbur blinked, as if for the first time realising that he hadn't seen said girl for over fifteen minutes. "Where is she?"

Lewis sighed, and shrugged. "Who knows. She doesn't usually take this long to get herself together after a rough night," he said, and almost immediately regretted it. Wilbur sat up higher, and his almost always chipper face turned dark as his eyes narrowed.

"Doesn't _usually_? How many rough nights has she had? Why were you guys flying around so late in the first place?" He demanded, forcing Lewis to look at him.

Lewis groaned and put a hand over his eyes, partly just to get out of sight of Wilbur's dark brown ones. "Well...it's been going on for just over a year now...every guy she dates seems to want to use her for their own sick pleasure," he said quietly. Wilbur made a small noise of indignation but Lewis held up a hand to silence him. "I don't know the full details of every date gone wrong, but I've heard enough to know that Franny's getting scared. Scared that no man's ever going to look past her gorgeous figure and red lips to see what makes her special, unique. And it tears me apart every time I pick her up in the middle of a deserted street because she still hasn't figured it out yet," he breathed softly. Wilbur seemed to be digesting this new information, leaning back and running a hand through his shiny black hair. He let his hand drop and looked back at his best friend, who had wrapped his jacket tightly around his lean chest as he stared off into space.

"Figured out what...?" Wilbur asked softly, but already knew the answer. It was why he exsisted.

"How much I love her," Lewis whispered. Wilbur smiled, and slung one arm over Lewis' shoulder.

"She _does _know...or she will. Trust me, I wouldn't be here if she didn't," Wilbur grinned confidently. Lewis sighed again, but knew his son was right. However that didn't mean he still had issues with how they eventually got together.

"But I don't even hold a candle to the guys she obviously seems to like! They're rugged and all muscle, unhumanely handsome and come from well-off families. And she just shrugs off everything I do and say, and I just...I can't..." Lewis said weakly, trying to strangle the air above the salt shaker. "I'm never going to be good enough! I'll always be the loyal best friend, who just happens to be a guy, a nerd, an inventor with a flying car that comes in handy during her 'dates'. It's so damn _frustrating_!" Lewis banged his fist down onto the table, making Wilbur jump and the glasses wobble, threatening to fall over. Wilbur tightened his grip on Lewis as the younger boy slumped onto the table and buried his face in the crook of his elbow.

"Don't stress soldier, you know it's all going to work out. I _could _help you out a bit though..."

"With what?" Lewis said through his jacket. Wilbur scratched his stubbly chin, thinking about the problem at hand.

"What to wear, what to say, how to act, how to kiss-" Wilbur snickered as Lewis sat up and blushed.

"None of it's even gonna matter if we can't find her," Lewis said as he pushed himself up, looking around the near-empty diner. He doubted that Franny had ran off, Creepy Mark could be anywhere. He called out for their waiter, Josh, to pay for their drinks, but didn't get an answer. Wilbur looked up at him from his slouched position on the seat, and shrugged. Curious, Lewis squeezed around the tabletop and made his way down to where he knew the bathrooms were.

He ran his hand along the 50's style wall and rounded a corner, stopping in his tracks. There was a small bar on the east side of the room, hidden from initial sight. Franny was leaning against the counter on one of the barstools, smiling and chatting to Josh and another young man who was cleaning glasses. It was no wonder that Josh hadn't heard Lewis' call; he looked quite preoccupied as it was, and didn't look up.

"Um, Fran."

Franny looked around and smiled when she saw Lewis, but didn't move to get up. She seemed to attract men like flies to a lamp, and she usually enjoyed the attention, no matter how long it lasted. Lewis suspected that it had something to do with how little attention she received from her father, who had left their family when she was only very small. She had told him this once, after discovering he was adopted; Franny felt that he could relate to her situation, and it deepened their so-called 'bond'. God, how he wished she would see him as more than just a friend with the same family problems- but the more he hinted at, the more she pulled away from him.

"It's _'Franny' _Lewis, only my mother calls me Fran. Can we stay a little longer? Ple-ease?" She pouted, making Josh laugh loudly. Lewis ground his teeth together, but nodded. He always gave in. Lewis seemed pathetic to his own eyes- as if he followed her around like a lost puppy, tongue hanging out and just hoping for a pat on the head. He turned and walked back to where Wilbur was sitting, making patterns in the pot of sugar with his finger. Wilbur glanced up as Lewis leaned against the adjacent wall.

"Found her?"

"Yep," Lewis muttered, wishing he had just dropped her off home. Gaston and Art always seemed to know what was wrong just by looking at Franny's face, and could cheer her up within minutes.

"Where?" Wilbur drawled, lazily licking off the sugar left on his finger. Lewis shoved his hands into his pockets and checked his watch.

"With that Josh guy, getting cosy." Wilbur looked up at Lewis' stony face, and whistled softly.

"Didn't take long, huh?"

"...Yeah."

Wilbur couldn't think of anything to say, so he kept his mouth shut. He picked up Lewis' discarded notebook and thumbed through, recognizing some of the drawings from his father's laboratory. Hating the silence and growing bored of the notebook, he yawned and stretched. Getting up, he threw his jacket over his shoulders, keeping an eye on his best mate. "You mind if I camp out at your place tonight?" He asked airily. Lewis nodded in assent, and together they cleaned up the table.

"I told Franny I would give her a couple minutes," Lewis said quietly as Wilbur made for the door.

"I'll get her then. She won't mind," Wilbur smiled and strode off. Lewis paid for their drinks, absently listening to the small noises of protest from around the corner. The manager slid the receipt back for Lewis to write a tip, but he just crossed the line out. "I think you need to retrain him to not flirt with customers when there are others waiting. We were going to order something to eat, but he never came back."

"Lewis said-" Franny started, trying to pout Wilbur out of his words.

"That was 10 minutes ago. C'mon babe, it's late." Lewis almost choked on his laughter when he heard that. He assumed Wilbur had done it to let Josh think she was taken, but it sounded so strange for Wilbur to say that to his own mother; albeit a younger and sexier version of her.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Framagucci," said Josh's voice politely. Lewis' mood changed in a heartbeat, and he bit down on his lip to keep from mumbling any explicatives. He walked over to the door and glimpsed Wilbur already outside, nimbly climbing up the side of Lewis' car to get to the Time Machine. Lewis silently held the door open for Franny, looking at the nearby cars on the street, just in case Mark had seen them in the diner and was doing some kind of stakeout. It had happened before. Franny seemed to deflate the moment she stepped outside, and headed straight for the car, seemingly ignoring the strange machine taking off from the roof.

The trip back to Franny's place was a quiet one, both teenagers lost in their dreary thoughts. Lewis had opted not to fly for the return trip; he needed to go over the flight data and make certain the car was safe for future joyrides, or in their case, escapes. Franny sighed softly, misting up the glass window. Lewis looked over, and watched her trace her initials, followed by a heart and two more letters he couldn't quite see. His attention was needed on the road, and by the time he glanced back, everything had faded away. "Story of my life," he muttered, spinning the wheel left past the set of lights, and out into the suburbs.

* * *

**_A/N: Don't think mean of Franny, she can't help the fact she's stunning and young and...yeah. Poor Lewis. Reviews make Kerro and I jump around like lunatics for an hour (well...it makes me jump around...not so sure about her...)! xx _**


	5. Journeys

**_A/N: Hullo :) Sorry for this late post. First few paragraphs written by my lovely, most brilliant friend Kerro, the rest by me. (Try and guess where we swapped over. Rewards for those who guessed correctly in the shape of virtual applause...or cookies, whatever takes your fancy.) We would like to thank you all for the reviews and alerts etc, but please, if you like this story enough to favourite it, can you please offer some advice? Drop a review, or something in particular you would like to see more of, or even spelling and grammatical errors that I can fix? It would be greatly appreciated. Those of you who write will know just how much a thought-provoking review can motivate our lazy muses into action. Enough of that, and on with the story. This bit continues straight where the last chapter left off, so if you have to go back and look -because I took so long to upload...-blushes- then please do so. Enjoy :)_**

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"Huh?" Franny looked at him, sitting up a little straighter.

"Nothing." Lewis replied, one hand on the wheel and the other resting with knuckles pressed to his temple. "Franny… ever think that maybe you are trying too hard to be accepted by a guy? Like, you want them to like you, so you change who you are, but in all reality, they don't care about you at all?" He glanced to her, sky blue eyes meeting her chocolate brown ones.

Franny sucked in a breath, and sat back in the chair, turning her attention back to the road. "Rhetorical question, right?"

Lewis sighed, pressing the brake to stop at another red traffic light. "Yeah, it is. Just… think about it, all right? And keep… keep in mind that there is someone out there that does care about you, and not because you're a girl, but because they like you for who you are, and all that you are."

"You're talking over your age again, Lewis." Franny replied, smiling softly.

"Considering that I graduated college four years ago, I _do_ have the right to do that. But seriously, Franny, please use that wonderful mind of yours, and I know you can work this out and make the right choices."

"Not going to say 'keep moving forward'?"

"This isn't the right time or place for that. To move forward would be to totally ignore what is right in front of you right now, compared to not talking about whats-his-face, Mark, and leaving him in the past." He pressed the gas as the light changed color. He couldn't say it aloud, not right now. Maybe he would need Wilbur's help with this, to gain the confidence he needed to tell Franny how he felt about her. He could speak before and capture the attention of other scientists that were twice his age, and their numbers ranged in the hundreds, and yet he couldn't tell the one person that he had a crush on that he loved her, and didn't want to lose her.

Franny gripped her purse tightly, pulling her knees up. Lewis' eyes flicked over to her, and he let a tiny sigh escape his lips. Every day he saw her, she looked more and more like the Franny he knew from the future, the Franny he would eventually marry. It was that thought that kept him at her side, always her knight in shining armour. Even if she couldn't quite see it.

"You alright, Franny?" He asked of her quietly, after a slightly uncomfortable pause.

She turned in her seat, and Lewis could more clearly see tear stains on her cheeks, and the sadness reflected in her eyes. "It's just...things never seem to want to stay in the past, like you've said. Memories, they...haunt me. I can think I've let go of something, or someone, and then it all comes rushing back when I finally think the nightmares over. Like tonight. Even though I will definitely not be dating Mark again, I will clearly remember all our time together if I _ever_ see or hear from him again. Some things I just want to forget, and keep on moving forward, like you tell me to...it just never seems to work out that way, for me," Franny breathed, fiddling with the clasp of her purse. Lewis bit his lip, mulling her heart-felt words over in his mind. He reached over and gripped her hand, eyes still trained on the dark and empty street.

"Franny...you have to make choices. When you met Mark, what was your first impression of him?"

"Well, I first noticed him because of how tall he was. And I loved how tanned-"

"No, I mean...personality-wise," Lewis frowned, replacing his hand on the wheel, already not liking where this conversation was going.

"He seemed...pretty nice. A bit touchy-feely though, and used a lot of innuendos. But most of the boys I've gone out with were like that," Franny said thoughtfully. Lewis exhaled slowly, drumming his fingers on the wheel while he thought about how he would say what he wanted to say.

"Franny, if most of the boys you've dated acted like that...and most of the boys you've dated have violated you verbally or emotionally, done to you some form of injustice...doesn't that give you a clue as to what kind of man you should steer clear of? Think about it, make the right decisions. So they don't have to haunt you. Please," he implored, hoping she wouldn't take offense at his words. Franny turned back to the window after a moment of silence, and Lewis was left once more to his thoughts. His large sapphire eyes noticed a flicker of motion above, and he saw Wilbur's headlights blinking through the clouds, looking no more suspicious than a police helicopter doing the rounds of the city at night. He absently wondered if his son ever had the same problems as he did.

Rounding the corner onto her street, Lewis immediately spotted the Framagucci household, halfway down the road. It was an average sized building, with a rather large garage that contained Art's pizza-delivery truck. Lewis changed gears, sliding into first as he pulled into the driveway, then shutting off the engine. They sat there in darkness, both waiting for the other to say something. Franny sniffed suddenly, startling Lewis. He found her hand in the shadows, and sat stunned when she threw herself against him, tears running down the worn leather of his jacket. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, confused by the sudden mood swing.

"Franny...?"

"Oh, Lewis- I'm- I just wanted-" She hiccuped, right below his ear. He was frozen to the spot as she curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, burying her face into his chest. "No one- no one knows what I go through- not even you- I just wish- I wish everyone could let me make my own choices. I know what I want, and I want my own life, without anyone interfering! You- you try, I know you try, and I love you for that, and I know people like Mark can't do me much good...Please, please don't take this wrong- but I want you, and all my friends- to let _me _judge who and who isn't right for me. Please?"

Franny looked up at Lewis through watery eyes, their faces only inches apart. Lewis swallowed, then sat back in his chair, resting his arms on the steering wheel as Franny lowered her trembling voice.

"I need you to promise me, Lewis."

"Franny..."

* * *

She couldn't believe his nerve. All she wanted was to be left alone, to live a life not guided by other people's advice.

"Why not? Do you think I can't handle my own life?" She demanded, glaring at the conflicted young man outlined in the gloom. Lewis hesitated, and the pause was enough for Franny to want to slap him. She threw open the car door without another word, stepping down onto the pavement. Tears blurred her vision as she hurried over to the front steps, not looking back. Fumbling in her purse for the front door key, she hardly registered the low revving noise as Lewis started up his car. Finally slotting in the correct key, Franny wrenched open the door handle and slammed it a little louder than intended once she was standing in the pitch black hallway of her home.

Two lights flicked on, their warm yellow glow illuminating the floor she stood upon, crying silently with her head held in her hands, leaning against the closed door. A minute later, a tall, silhouetted figure in baggy pajamas slowly made his way from the far bedroom down to the shaking girl.

"Ssh, it's OK...c'mon..." Gaston murmured, gripping his sister by the shoulders and steering her further into the house, past Art's blinking face poking from his bedroom. He left her in the kitchen for a moment, doubling back to lock the front door. Opening it quietly, he waved a 'thankyou' to Lewis, who immediately nodded gratefully and put the car in reverse. Gaston shook his head slightly as he turned back inside; he never did understand how Lewis could put up with Franny's late nights for so long, and he hoped his sister gave him all the friendship he deserved. Wiping sleep from his eyes with the back of a bony hand, Gaston trotted back to the kitchen, which he found empty. Franny's handbag was dumped on the counter, and her high heels discarded near the hallway. Sighing, he headed back to his own room; he knew it was pointless to ask what had happened, or to try consoling her...stubbornness ran in the family.

Franny carefully shut and locked her door, looking around at the mass of assorted cushions and classical CD's littering the ground. A small croaking noise made Franny smile for the first time that night. This was her haven, her sanctuary, where she was who she wanted to be. Her safe place, where she could permit only who she wanted to enter. No Mark, no family, no friends...except Lewis. Lewis had always been an exception, because he never made fun of the tank full of frogs in the corner, or the music piled in stacks around the walls, or the numerous fluffy romance novels on her bedside table. He respected her, and she him. It was, in her opinion, why they were such great friends.

Franny suddenly felt very dirty. She looked down at the designer clothes she had spent two hours selecting for her date with Mark, and felt an irresistible urge to set fire to them. She ripped off her coat, then struggled to pull the cream fabric of her top over her head. Breathing heavily, she finally removed the expensive garment and threw it roughly on the floor. Next came her belt, skirt, stockings, and underwear. Striding completely naked over to the frog enclosure, she plucked Frankie from his perch on a stick, and carried the little frog into the bathroom. She placed him delicately on the sink as she ran a hot bath, filling it with plenty of lavender soap.

This had become almost a ritual thing for her to do; the water helped soothe her feelings as she literally scrubbed the emotional dirt from her skin. She would talk her whole night through with Frankie, crying often, until the whole scenario was put into perspective and she felt like facing the world again.

"Come here, luv," she murmured, cradling Frankie as she stepped into the massive bubble-filled tub. Franny let him bound into the water, as she watched him swim in circles for a few minutes while her mind drifted away to her eventful night. She sighed as she thought of the interrogation she would receive from her mother, and brothers, tomorrow. After the first two times Lewis had brought her home so late, her mother had called up his parents, convinced that they were dating and doing irresponsible things at night. It had been quite confusing and embarrassing, for everyone. Lewis was now treated like another sibling in the family, and was encouraged to come and go as he pleased.

It suddenly occurred to Franny how horrible she had treated her best friend that night. He had been called in the middle of the night to pick her up, deal with her stress, run away from Mark, drag her away from Perkins and that silly boy, then trying to console her in the car as she cried all over him.

"Oh, God," she whispered, pulling her knees up to her chin. Frankie jumped onto the side of the tub, and she looked at her childhood friend through big brown eyes._I didn't even say thank you, _she thought miserably, wondering why on earth he didn't just leave her to get run down by that scary Jeep and its even creepier driver. Franny buried her face in her arms, and stayed that way until the water was stone cold, she felt guilty as all hell, and the sun began to coat the room in shades of pink and gold...

A new day.


End file.
